This was my first cruise and was for our 20th wedding anniversary. Part of the problem was weather related, for which I cannot blame the cruise line. We boarded on a Friday in Seattle around noon, but could not get to our room until around 2:30. We set sail at 4 pm and did not arrive in Juneau until noon on Sunday. We woke up on Saturday to damp and foggy weather outside, meaning that we could not really enjoy being on deck. When we arrived at Juneau, we had scheduled a shore excursion for around 3 pm. Problem was that it was raining, making the day ashore less than desirable. We left Juneau around 8 pm and arrived in Skagway around 8 am. It was a decent day, weatherwise (cool but not raining), so our excursion was nice. We also enjoyed the shops, bars and a restaurant in Skagway (Skagway Fish House) right next to the pier. Tuesday and Wednesday were at sea, with Tuesday being cold and windy, and Wednesday being nice enough to go out on deck. Bottom line is that we were on the water for 3.5 days and there was very little to do on board unless you wanted to shop (how many times can you go into the same few stores), gamble (not my thing except for a few hands of blackjack), drink (trivia pursuit in every bar) or go to the Spa area (how many massages can you get?), all of which are money making things for the line.

They did have a nice Ice show and a show with Greg London, which was great. Other than that, while on the ship, I was totally bored. The food was marginal in that it had very little flavor and was obviously laden with sodium in order to preserve it. If you are used to quality food, this was a big disappointment. The staff for the cabin, the bars and in general were very good. I guess my impression of a cruise was that you travel in the evenings and do things in a port during the day. Although Alaska was beautiful, I think that I would have preferred to fly there, rent a car and explore on my own. We had a total of 30 hours and 30 minutes in port out of 164 total hours available. I find it highly unlikely that I will do this cruise again, and probably no cruise again.